*****So this is the Green Day album it's okay to like according to those who deride American Idiot-onwards stuff as sellout pop for teens and this being... a pop-punk album of simple songs and teenage angst. Derp.While the fact that this was derided as a betrayal by OG punk fans in its time for simply being a major label release is the only thing stopping the aforementioned attitude towards Green Day being among the most delusional music snobbery I've ever encountered, Dookie is still a solid dose of knockabout fun where the strong points of the band's musicianship being on display here - the energy of Tre Cool's drumming and Mike's melodic bass flourishes, Billie's knack for an ear-worm of a melody and ability to make simple power chord progressions sound fresh and air-guitar worthy. It's effective enough to allow the album to still sound good when the songs aren't as strong - aka the stuff around tracks 4 to 10 which are home to the singles, all very enjoyable as well as 'Pulling Teeth' which is a hint at the pop style developed further on Nimrod and Warning ('All By Myself' is a cheeky treat at the end, though). Ultimately what made them such an instantly appealing band to many is just as apparent here as what innovations they'd accomplish on their later releases are missing.While it does have a sheen of natural energy and rawer production which is missing from American Idiot, which is the only thing I can identify with from those on the Dookie side of the argument, it's still the weaker album in my eyes from not being as musically inventive. Both get the same rating on the scale provided on this site but this is more 7.6 with AI more 8.3.Last edited: 22/12/2015 00:49